[Formula: see text]Higher cortisol is associated with poorer executive functioning in preschool children: The role of parenting stress, parent coping and quality of daycare

Feasibility of an Online Acute Stressor in Preschool Children of Mothers with Depression

Maternal depression is a risk factor for future mental health problems in offspring, with stress-system function as a candidate vulnerability factor. Here we present initial validation of an online matching-task (MT) paradigm in young children exposed to maternal depression (N = 40), a first in stressor-paradigm research for this age group. Investigations of stress-system reactivity that can be conducted online are an innovative assessment approach, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicate high feasibility, with a >75% data collection success rate across measures, similar-to or better-than in-person success rates in young children. Overall, the online MT elicited significant heart rate but not cortisol reactivity. Individual differences in child mental health symptoms were a moderator of reactivity to the stressor such that children with lower, but not higher, behavioral problems exhibited the typical pattern of cortisol reactivity to the online MT. Results are aligned with allostatic load models, which suggest downregulation of stress-system reactivity as a result of experiencing adversity and mental health vulnerability. Consistent with in-person research, this suggests that an early phenotype for the emergence of behavior problems may be linked to altered stress-system reactivity. Results hold potential clinical implications for intervention development and the future of online stress-system research. Trial Registration: Clinical Trial Registration: NCT04639557; (Building Regulation in Dual Generations-Telehealth Model [BRIDGE]).

Stress Markers, Executive Functioning, and Resilience Among Early Adolescents With Complex Congenital Heart Disease

Importance

Infants with complex congenital heart disease (cCHD) may experience prolonged and severe stress when undergoing open heart surgery. However, little is known about long-term stress and its role in neurodevelopmental impairments in this population.

Objective

To investigate potential differences between early adolescents aged 10 to 15 years with cCHD and healthy controls in physiological stress markers by hair analysis, executive function (EF) performance, and resilience.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This single-center, population-based case-control study was conducted at the University Children's Hospital Zurich, Switzerland. Patients with different types of cCHD who underwent cardiopulmonary bypass surgery during the first year of life and who did not have a genetic disorder were included in a prospective cohort study between 2004 and 2012. A total of 178 patients were eligible for assessment at ages 10 to 15 years. A control group of healthy term-born individuals was cross-sectionally recruited. Data assessment was between 2019 and 2021. Statistical analysis was performed from January to April 2023.

Exposure

Patients with cCHD who underwent infant open heart surgery.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Physiological stress markers were quantified by summing cortisol and cortisone concentrations measured with liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry in a 3-centimeter hair strand. EFs were assessed with a neuropsychological test battery to produce an age-adjusted EF summary score. Resilience was assessed with a standardized self-report questionnaire.

Results

The study included 100 patients with cCHD and 104 controls between 10 and 15 years of age (mean [SD] age, 13.3 [1.3] years); 110 (53.9%) were male and 94 (46.1%) were female. When adjusting for age, sex, and parental education, patients had significantly higher sums of hair cortisol and cortisone concentrations (β, 0.28 [95% CI, 0.12 to 0.43]; P < .001) and lower EF scores (β, -0.36 [95% CI, -0.49 to -0.23]; P < .001) than controls. There was no group difference in self-reported resilience (β, -0.04 [95% CI, -0.23 to 0.12]; P = .63). A significant interaction effect between stress markers and EFs was found, indicating a stronger negative association in patients than controls (β, -0.65 [95% CI, -1.15 to -0.15]; P = .01). The contrast effects were not significant in patients (β, -0.21 [95% CI, -0.43 to -0.00]; P = .06) and controls (β, 0.09 [95% CI, -0.11 to 0.30]; P = .38).

Conclusions and Relevance

This case-control study provides evidence for altered physiological stress levels in adolescents with cCHD and an association with poorer EF. These results suggest that future studies are needed to better understand the neurobiological mechanisms and timing of alterations in the stress system and its role in neurodevelopment.

How does sensitivity influence early executive function? A critical review on hot and cool processes

There is compelling evidence that the quality of caregiver-child interactions during toddlerhood and the preschool years supports the development of executive function (EF) (Bernier et al., 2010; 2015; 2016; Fay-Stammbach et al., 2014; Geeraerts et al., 2021). Based on such findings, we make the case herein that sensitivity may be one of the most important dimensions of parenting contributing to early EF. In the present article, we will review empirical evidence, integrating findings from a wide range of scientific disciplines - cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and developmental psychopathology - and present theoretical ideas about how two contexts of sensitive caregiving - i.e. sensitivity to distress and non-distress cues - may be contributing differently to hot and cool EF development. Implications for future investigations on the environmental contributors of early EF, and its mechanisms, are discussed.

Cortisol awakening response and developmental outcomes at 6-7 years in children born extremely preterm

BACKGROUND

Extremely preterm (EPT) birth has been related to dysregulation of stress responses and behavioral/learning problems at school age. Early adverse experiences can blunt HPA axis reactivity. We hypothesized that an attenuated cortisol awakening response would be associated with developmental and behavioral problems at school age in EPT children.

METHODS

This secondary analysis of a sub-cohort of the SUPPORT study included children born between 24 and 27 weeks, evaluated at 6-7 years with a neurodevelopmental battery and cortisol measures. Differences were tested between EPT and a term-born group. Relationships of cortisol awakening response to test scores were analyzed.

RESULTS

Cortisol was measured in 110 EPT and 29 term-born 6-7 year olds. Unadjusted WISC-IV and NEPSY-II scores were significantly worse among EPT children only. Conners Parent Rating Scale behavior scores were significantly worse among EPT children. After adjusting for covariates, blunted cortisol awakening responses were found to be associated with poorer scores on memory tests and greater problems with inattention for the EPT group (p < 0.05) only.

CONCLUSIONS

Among children born EPT, we identified an association of blunted cortisol awakening response with memory and inattention problems. This may have implications related to stress reactivity and its relationship to learning problems in children born EPT.

CLINICALTRIALS

GOV ID

Extended Follow-up at School Age for the SUPPORT Neuroimaging and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes (NEURO) Cohort: NCT00233324.

IMPACT

In children born EPT, stress reactivity may have a relationship to learning problems. Cortisol awakening response should be a component for follow-up in EPT born children. Components of executive function, such as memory and attention, are related to stress reactivity.

The unique relevance of executive functions and self-regulation behaviors for understanding early childhood experiences and preschoolers' outcomes in rural Pakistan

Performance-based measures of children's executive functions (EFs) do not capture children's application of these skills during everyday emotionally-laden and socially-mediated interactions. The current study demonstrates the value of using assessor report of self-regulation behaviors (inhibitory control and positive affect/engagement) in addition to EF tasks when studying early childhood experiences and development in a rural lower-middle-income country setting. In a sample of 1302 disadvantaged 4-year-olds living in rural Pakistan, we found that directly assessed EFs were significantly related to assessor observations of children's inhibitory control and positive affect/engagement during a structured assessment protocol. However, EFs and two types of self-regulation behaviors demonstrated unique associations with children's (1) contextual experiences, as indexed by family socio-economic resources, participation in parenting interventions, and children's physical growth; and (2) age-salient developmental outcomes, as indexed by direct assessment of pre-academic skills and maternal report of prosocial behaviors and behavior problems. First, family wealth uniquely predicted only observed positive affect/engagement, whereas maternal education uniquely predicted only EFs. Second, children's antecedent linear growth was a significant predictor of both EFs and positive affect/engagement, but exposure to an enhanced nutrition intervention during the first 2 years of life and preschoolers' hair cortisol concentration were associated only with observed self-regulation behaviors. Finally, both EFs and observed positive affect/engagement uniquely predicted children's pre-academic skills. In contrast, only assessors' ratings of positive affect/engagement uniquely predicted maternal report of prosocial behaviors and only assessors' ratings of inhibitory control uniquely predicted maternal report of behavioral problems.

Parenting and Adjustment Problems among Preschoolers during COVID-19

A critical area of developmental science explores factors that confer risk or protection as young children and their families experience stressful circumstances related to sociohistorical events. This study contributes to this important area by assessing relations between family context and child adjustment as children transitioned from preschool to home learning during COVID-19, and whether children higher in stress levels, indexed by morning basal cortisol, were more strongly affected. Parents of 74 children (M _age  = 53.56 months, SD _age = 3.68 months) completed reports spanning the home learning transition; children's pre-COVID-19 transition salivary cortisol levels were assessed. Path analyses were used to test the preregistered study aims. Significant interactions were decomposed using simple slopes and Preacher's Regions of Significance (ROS) method. Across the COVID-19 transition to home-based school, children with higher morning basal cortisol experienced the sharpest increase in anger when exposed to harsh/inconsistent parenting contexts. Importantly, these effects held when controlling for household chaos, socioeconomic resources, and supportive parenting. Parallel models with supportive parenting were also tested and are discussed. This study is one of the first to test and provide support for biological sensitivity to context theory within the context of a natural experiment like COVID-19.

Psychotherapeutic Change Mechanisms and Causal Psychotherapy: Applications to Child Abuse and Trauma

The study of change mechanisms in psychotherapy needs to be integrated with the causality of behavior, which leads to the concept of causal psychotherapy. Causal psychotherapy is posited as a useful adjunct to standard, evidence based psychotherapies for child and youth victims of abuse and trauma. The article illustrates six processes that could be involved in causal psychotherapy in this context, from the distal to the proximal. They include the distal mechanism of activation-inhibition coordination. The most proximal one relates to executive function. The intermediate levels include ones related to co-regulation (e.g., self control), analysis-synthesis, objectivity-subjectivity, and psychological reserve, which is a new concept in the domain of psychological change mechanisms. Each of the variables can vary from high to low, with the low end being more problematic. Psychotherapy can aim to bring the patient toward adaptive levels. The literature review focuses on psychotherapeutic change mechanisms, and standard psychotherapies for child/youth abuse/trauma, especially trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy (TF-CBT). Then, it considers causal aspects of child/youth abuse and trauma, including PTSD. The discussion relates causal therapy to the question of unifying psychology and psychotherapy under the rubric of causality as a core integrative mechanism.

Connecting the biology of stress, allostatic load and epigenetics to social structures and processes

How do sociology and stress biology connect in efforts to understand the impact of early childhood adversity on health and life chances? This memorial article describes the collaboration between Bruce and Craig McEwen in bringing stress neurobiology to sociologists. It attempts, in turn, to bring sociology to stress neurobiologists, the second goal of this collaboration. It frames the social sources of human stress in terms of the social determinants of health as well as more proximal childhood adversities. It also underlines the importance of supportive adult and community relationships in preventing toxic stress. Bruce was hopeful that stress biology research could inform public health efforts aimed at improving population health and more equitable life trajectories. To strengthen our understanding of stress and to contribute to that goal, stress neurobiologists can help tease out the complex social causes of stress by expanding the range of variables employed to identify its sources as well as the protections against it in human populations.

Parenting stress

Parenting Stress relates to stressors that are a function of being in and executing the parenting role. It is a construct that relates to both psychological phenomena and to the human body’s physiological state as a parent or caretaker of a child. This article serves as a brief narrative review of the construct.

Developmental Consequences of Early Life Stress on Risk for Psychopathology: Longitudinal Associations with Children's Multisystem Physiological Regulation and Executive Functioning

The etiology of psychopathology is multifaceted and warrants consideration of factors at multiple levels and across developmental time. Although experiences of adversity in early life have been associated with increased risk of developing psychopathology, pathways toward maladaptation or resilience are complex and depend upon a variety of factors, including individuals' physiological regulation and cognitive functioning. Therefore, in a longitudinal cohort of 113 mother-child dyads, we explored associations from early adverse experiences to physiological co-regulation across multiple systems and subsequent variations in executive functioning. Latent profile analysis derived multisystem profiles based on children's heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, pre-ejection period, and cortisol measured during periods of rest and reactivity throughout a developmentally challenging protocol. Three distinct profiles of multisystem regulation emerged: heightened multisystem baseline activity (Anticipatory Arousal/ANS Responder), typically adaptive patterns across all systems (Active Copers/Mobilizers) and heightened HPA axis activity (HPA Axis Responders). Path models revealed that children exposed to adversity before 18-months were more likely to evidence an Anticipatory Arousal/ANS Responders response at 36-months, and children in this profile had lower executive functioning scores than the Active Copers/Mobilizers. In sum, these findings provide important information about potential physiological associations linking early adversity to variations in children's task-based executive functioning.

Benefits of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention upon School Entry: A Pilot Study

BACKGROUND

mindfulness meditation is effective at fostering the executive functioning of children, i.e., the skills that play important roles in academic performance and social-emotional wellbeing. One possible mechanism for such an effect might be that meditation practices can decrease stress, especially if someone is at a risk for elevated cortisol levels, for instance, due to a stressful life event, such as starting school.

PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS

the present pilot study tested the effects of a six-session mindfulness intervention applied right after school entry compared to a passive control group. In total 61 first graders participated (Mage = 84.95 months, SD = 5.21) in this study from four classes of a primary school in Budapest. Repeated-measures ANOVA were performed to explore the effects on executive functioning skills and cortisol levels.

RESULTS

no effect was found on morning salivary cortisol levels, but the working memory capacities of girls significantly improved as a result of the intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

a relatively short, story-based mindfulness intervention can improve the working memory capacities of first-graders; thus, it could potentially contribute to the academic performance and adaptation of children in schools.

Weak and uneven associations of home, neighborhood, and school environments with stress hormone output across multiple timescales

The progression of lifelong trajectories of socioeconomic inequalities in health and mortality begins in childhood. Dysregulation in cortisol, a stress hormone that is the primary output of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, has been hypothesized to be a mechanism for how early environmental adversity compromises health. However, despite the popularity of cortisol as a biomarker for stress and adversity, little is known about whether cortisol output differs in children being raised in socioeconomically disadvantaged environments. Here, we show that there are few differences between advantaged and disadvantaged children in their cortisol output. In 8-14-year-old children from the population-based Texas Twin Project, we measured cortisol output at three different timescales: (a) diurnal fluctuation in salivary cortisol (n = 400), (b) salivary cortisol reactivity and recovery after exposure to the Trier Social Stress Test (n = 444), and (c) cortisol concentration in hair (n = 1210). These measures converged on two moderately correlated, yet distinguishable, dimensions of HPA function. We tested differences in cortisol output across nine aspects of social disadvantage at the home (e.g., family socioeconomic status), school (e.g., average levels of academic achievement), and neighborhood (e.g., concentrated poverty). Children living in neighborhoods with higher concentrated poverty had higher diurnal cortisol output, as measured in saliva; otherwise, child cortisol output was unrelated to any other aspect of social disadvantage. Overall, we find limited support for alteration in HPA axis functioning as a general mechanism for the health consequences of socioeconomic inequality in childhood.

Developmental variation in testosterone:cortisol ratio alters cortical- and amygdala-based cognitive processes

Testosterone (T) and cortisol (C) are the end products of neuroendocrine axes that interact with the process of shaping brain structure and function. Relative levels of T:C (TC ratio) may alter prefrontal-amygdala functional connectivity in adulthood. What remains unclear is whether TC-related effects are rooted to childhood and adolescence. We used a healthy cohort of 4-22-year-olds to test for associations between TC ratios, brain structure (amygdala volume, cortical thickness (CTh), and their coordinated growth), as well as cognitive and behavioral development. We found greater TC ratios to be associated with the growth of specific brain structures: 1) parietal CTh; 2) covariance of the amygdala with CTh in visual and somatosensory areas. These brain parameters were in turn associated with lower verbal/executive function and higher spatial working memory. In sum, individual TC profiles may confer a particular brain phenotype and set of cognitive strengths and vulnerabilities, prior to adulthood.

Father involvement in infancy predicts behavior and response to chronic stress in middle childhood in a low-income Latinx sample

Fathers' involvement in early childhood is important for children's physical, emotional, and cognitive development, particularly in low-income families. However, little is known about the longitudinal relations between early father involvement and children's later physiological responses to chronic stress and behaviors impacted by stress in the context of poverty. These issues are particularly important among Latinx immigrant families who face significant psychosocial and poverty-related risk. In the current study, we examined the relationship between father involvement in infancy and physiological chronic stress in the middle childhood period, as measured through hair cortisol concentration (HCC), and several behavioral measures (attention problems, working memory) in a Latinx immigrant sample with low income. Father involvement in infancy predicted children's later HCC, and working memory in second to third grade. Father involvement also moderated the effect of HCC on working memory, such that increased HCC predicted better working memory when fathers were not involved. These findings suggest that the fathers' involvement in infancy has lasting impacts on health and behavior and that associations between physiological and behavioral measures of stress may be moderated by differences in early father involvement.

Intergenerational effects of maternal post-traumatic stress disorder on offspring epigenetic patterns and cortisol levels

Aim: To investigate the association between maternal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during pregnancy and offspring DNA methylation and cortisol levels. Materials & methods: Blood genome-wide DNA methylation and cortisol was measured in the youngest child of 117 women who experienced sexual violence/torture during the Kosovo war. Results: Seventy-two percent of women had PTSD symptoms during pregnancy. Their children had higher cortisol levels and differential methylation at candidate genes (NR3C1, HTR3A and BNDF). No methylation differences reached epigenome-wide corrected significance levels. Conclusion: Identifying the biological processes whereby the negative effects of trauma are passed across generations and defining groups at high risk is a key step to breaking the intergenerational transmission of the effects of mental disorders.

Addressing educational inequalities and promoting learning through studies of stress physiology in elementary school students

To be ready to learn, children need to be focused, engaged, and able to bounce back from setbacks. However, many children come to school with heightened or diminished physiological arousal due to exposure to poverty-related risks. While stress physiology plays a role in explaining how adversity relates to processes that support students' cognitive development, there is a lack of studies of physiological stress response in educational settings. This review integrates relevant studies and offers future directions for research on the role of stress physiology in the school adaptation of elementary school students, focusing on these important questions: (a) What are the links between physiological stress response and learning-related skills and behaviors, and do they vary as a function of proximal and distal experiences outside of school? (b) How are school experiences associated with students' physiological stress response and related cognitive and behavioral adaptations? (c) How can we leverage measures of students' physiological stress response in evaluations of school-based interventions to better support the school success of every student? We hope to stimulate a new wave of research that will advance the science of developmental stress physiology, as well as improve the application of these findings in educational policy and practice.

Revisiting discrete versus continuous models of human behavior: The case of absolute pitch

Many human behaviors are discussed in terms of discrete categories. Quantizing behavior in this fashion may provide important traction for understanding the complexities of human experience, but it also may bias understanding of phenomena and associated mechanisms. One example of this is absolute pitch (AP), which is often treated as a discrete trait that is either present or absent (i.e., with easily identifiable near-perfect "genuine" AP possessors and at-chance non-AP possessors) despite emerging evidence that pitch-labeling ability is not all-or-nothing. We used a large-scale online assessment to test the discrete model of AP, specifically by measuring how intermediate performers related to the typically defined "non-AP" and "genuine AP" populations. Consistent with prior research, individuals who performed at-chance (non-AP) reported beginning musical instruction much later than the near-perfect AP participants, and the highest performers were more likely to speak a tonal language than were the lowest performers (though this effect was not as statistically robust as one would expect from prior research). Critically, however, these developmental factors did not differentiate the near-perfect AP performers from the intermediate AP performers. Gaussian mixture modeling supported the existence of two performance distributions-the first distribution encompassed both the intermediate and near-perfect AP possessors, whereas the second distribution encompassed only the at-chance participants. Overall, these results provide support for conceptualizing intermediate levels of pitch-labeling ability along the same continuum as genuine AP-level pitch labeling ability-in other words, a continuous distribution of AP skill among all above-chance performers rather than discrete categories of ability. Expanding the inclusion criteria for AP makes it possible to test hypotheses about the mechanisms that underlie this ability and relate this ability to more general cognitive mechanisms involved in other abilities.

Lifetime stressors, hair cortisol, and executive function: Age-related associations in childhood

Extant research is mixed regarding the relations among lifetime exposure to stressors, adrenocortical activity, and executive function (EF), particularly in children. Aggregate measures of adrenocortical activity like hair cortisol concentration (HCC), timing of stress exposure, and age at assessment may clarify these associations. This cross-sectional study examined the association among parent-reported exposure to stressors, hair cortisol concentration (HCC), and children's EF via a tablet task in a community sample (n = 318, 52.5% female) of children across a wide age range (4-13 years, M = 9.4, SD = 2.3). Path analyses revealed that parent-reported child lifetime exposure to stressors, but not past-year stressful life events, negatively predicted HCC. There was also a marginally significant moderation by age such that HCC was associated negatively with EF for younger children (age < 9.7 years) but not older children. HCC did not significantly mediate the association between lifetime exposure to stressors and EF. Findings are consistent with the proposition that chronically high cortisol production has a neurotoxic effect on brain regions supporting EF. However, lifetime exposure to stressors predicted relatively lower cumulative cortisol production, consistent with a stress inoculation effect in this normative-risk sample.

The neurophysiological embedding of child maltreatment

Maltreatment adversely impacts the development of children across a host of domains. One way in which maltreatment may exert its deleterious effects is by becoming embedded in the activity of neurophysiological systems that regulate metabolic function. This paper reviews the literature regarding the association between childhood maltreatment and the activity of three systems: the parasympathetic nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. A particular emphasis is placed on the extent to which the literature supports a common account of activity across these systems under conditions of homeostasis and stress. The paper concludes with an outline of directions for future research and the implications of the literature for policy and practice.

Predicting child effortful control: An integrative analysis of child physiological, familial, and community factors

Effortful control (EC) is a regulatory capacity that refers to children's ability to inhibit a dominant response to perform a subdominant response. Although attempts have been made to identify early predictors of children's EC, the confluence and interaction of child-, familial-, and community factors has not been pursued adequately. This study investigated how predictors from different aspects of children's rearing environment interacted to predict later EC. In a sample of 88 primiparous women with elevated depressive symptomotology and low household income, we examined how children's own psychobiology (baseline cortisol), familial relationship (mother-child attachment), and community resources (social support) at 17 months independently and jointly predicted EC at age 5. Our results showed that, controlling for maternal depressive symptomotology and household income, predictors from child-, familial-, and community-aspect function integratively, rather than independently, in predicting later EC. Specifically, within the context of a secure attachment relationship, baseline cortisol positively predicts later EC only for children of mothers who reported low social support. Whereas within the context of an insecure attachment relationship, baseline cortisol negatively predicts later EC, regardless of the perceived social support levels. Our results highlighted the importance of taking into consideration predictors from multiple aspects for intervention designs.

The relationship between procrastination, perceived stress, saliva alpha-amylase level and parenting styles in Chinese first year medical students

Background

Procrastination is prevalent among students today, and this negatively impacts upon their academic achievement. The current study aimed to explore the relationship between procrastination, perceived stress, saliva alpha-amylase (sAA) levels, and the parenting styles of Chinese first year medical students (MBBS).

Methods

We recruited 140 MBBS students aged 18–22 years. Assessments included the Procrastination Assessment Scale-Students (PASS), the Chinese version of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), saliva alpha-amylase level (sAA), and the Chinese version of the Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran (EMBU) which assesses parenting style. PSS and sAA levels were assessed at week 1 (baseline), then again at week 2 and week 4.

Results

Male students reported higher levels of procrastination and perceived stress reactions than their female counterparts. Male students reported experiencing higher punishing/severe and rejecting (ie negative) parenting styles, while female students reported experiencing higher warm and affectionate (ie positive) parenting styles. Positive parenting styles were negatively associated with to procrastination and stress reactions, while negative parenting styles were positively associated with procrastination and delayed stress reactions among MBBS students.

Conclusion

Procrastination induced stress in MBBS students, providing further evidence that procrastination enhances stress in young adulthood. Negative parenting styles, such as being punishing and rejecting, had a positive correlation with procrastination.

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What Are We Measuring as Outcome? Looking Beyond Neurodevelopmental Impairment

Outcomes of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) graduates have been categorized by rates of neurodevelopmental impairment at 2 years old. Although useful as metrics for research, these early childhood assessments may underestimate or overestimate later functional capabilities. Often overlooked are less severe but more prevalent neurobehavioral dysfunctions seen later in childhood, and chronic health concerns that may impact the child's quality of life (QoL). Comprehensive NICU follow-up should include measures of less severe cognitive/learning delays, physical/mental well-being, and the promotion of resilience in children and families. Studies are needed to identify QoL measures that will optimize children's assessments and outcomes.

Parenting matters: Moderation of biological and community risk for obesity

Contributions of parental limit setting, negativity, scaffolding, warmth, and responsiveness to Body Mass Index (BMI) were examined. Parenting behaviors were observed in parent-child interactions, and child BMI was assessed at 5 years of age. Mothers provided demographic information and obtained child saliva samples used to derive cortisol concentration indicators (N = 250). Geospatial crime indices were computed based on publically available information for a subsample residing within the boundaries of a Pacific Northwest city (N = 114). Maternal warmth and limit setting moderated the association between child HPA-axis regulation and BMI. BMI was higher for children at lower cortisol concentrations with greater maternal warmth and lower for youngsters with mid-range cortisol values under high maternal limit setting. Maternal scaffolding moderated the effects of crime exposure, so that lower scaffolding translated into higher child BMI with greater neighborhood crime exposure. These parenting behaviors could be leveraged in obesity prevention/intervention efforts.

Blunted cortisol stress reactivity in low-income children relates to lower memory function

Lower socioeconomic status (SES) environments are marked by higher stress that is hypothesized to alter cortisol secretion in children, thereby damaging hippocampal volume and memory performance. However, empirical evidence demonstrating these putative links is lacking. We assessed the diurnal cortisol awakening response (CAR) on two mornings and cortisol stress reactivity (CSR) with the Trier Social Stress Test for Children in 102 healthy, socio-demographically diverse 6-to-7-year-old children (46% female). Children performed a hippocampal-dependent item-location associative memory task and 60 of these children underwent structural MRI scanning for hippocampal volume. Cortisol values were modeled with latent-change structural equation models to represent overall levels and change. We found lower income is associated with a flatter CAR, blunted reactivity and recovery to acute stress, and smaller hippocampal volume. Furthermore, hyporeactivity in CSR was related to lower memory among lower-income children, whereas there was no reliable association of CSR and memory among higher-income children (an income x cortisol interaction). We found no evidence that smaller hippocampal volume in lower income was associated with poorer memory performance. Notably, hyporeactivity in both CAR and CSR was specific to using income as the SES predictor. The income x cortisol interaction and smaller hippocampal effects, however, were replicated with education and an SES composite score. This suggests that hyporeactivity to acute stress may function as a mediator in SES-cognition associations at the lower end of the SES spectrum, but it does not imply environmental- or genetically-mediated causation.

Cognitive control moderates parenting stress effects on children's diurnal cortisol

This study investigated associations between parenting stress in parents and self-reported stress in children with children's diurnal cortisol secretion and whether these associations are moderated by known stress-regulating capacities, namely child cognitive control. Salivary cortisol concentrations were assessed from awakening to evening on two weekend days from 53 6-to-7-year-old children. Children completed a cognitive control task and a self-report stress questionnaire with an experimenter, while parents completed a parenting stress inventory. Hierarchical, linear mixed effects models revealed that higher parenting stress was associated with overall reduced cortisol secretion in children, and this effect was moderated by cognitive control. Specifically, parenting stress was associated with reduced diurnal cortisol levels in children with lower cognitive control ability and not in children with higher cognitive control ability. There were no effects of self-reported stress in children on their cortisol secretion, presumably because 6-to-7-year-old children cannot yet self-report on stress experiences. Our results suggest that higher cognitive control skills may buffer the effects of parenting stress in parents on their children's stress regulation in middle childhood. This could indicate that training cognitive control skills in early life could be a target to prevent stress-related disorders.